Swept by Cleveland. Branded six-game losers by Texas … in a 14-inning game … at home! Oh, yeah, and Brandon’s broken[1].

This season is over, right? Well, not quite. We might be in any other division in baseball, but not here in the AL Central, where the three teams at the top each have the same strengths and weaknesses.

The Tigers are experiencing their first major slide of the season. Sure, the four-game sweep by the Tribe (the first such sweep in nearly 20 years) made it sting a little more. And the late-inning loss last night fanned the flames.

While the loss of Brandon Inge isn’t good, the installation of Don Kelly or Ryan Raburn at third isn’t bad. Both are great prospects that might have some Boesch-like development with a full-time job.

Ouch!

So rub some dirt on it. Shake it off!

The Twins have been through some rough patches as well, losing 10 of 15 to end May and six of eight heading into the All-Star Break. They just lost Morneau for a little while too.

The white-hot Sox were one of the most disappointing teams in baseball, dipping nearly 10 games below .500 before igniting in June. They just lost the resurgent Jake Peavy.